Tag Archives: dinner

I make a lot of recipes from Skinnytaste, but so far, this is definitely one of my favorites. The Skinny Eggplant Rollatini is super flavorful and rich, but yet light enough for a summer dinner. The hubs is out of town, so I made myself this nice big pan on Sunday night, so I have dinners ready-made throughout the week. It was also pretty easy. Only took me a minute to slice up the eggplant (I didn’t use my mandolin, so they are a little uneven, but it really didn’t matter…)

Three minutes to mix up the filling…

Another three minutes to roll them up, and voila! Just need to bake them!

Not the prettiest photo, I know, but these were SO GOOD. And that’s four meals or so right there, ready to go.

I don’t usually go meatless at meals, but I decided to switch it up. You could definitely throw some ground turkey or something into the mix if you wanted to up the protein. I’m sure this would make a great “lasagna,” too, but the cute little rolls make me happy. Enjoy!

My friend Jacob makes this chili regularly, and I loved it, so finally made him send me the recipe. Turns out, it is an adaptation of this Circleville Pumpkin Chili. AND IT’S AMAZING AND SO SO SAVORY. Do not let the pumpkin and the chocolate fool you…

So here we go with my adaptation of Jacob’s adaptation of the Circleville Pumpkin Chili recipe…This makes enough for really large crowd, so cut it in half if it’s just for you…

1. In a large pot, heat oil over medium heat, then cook onion and garlic until translucent. Add meat and all spices, cooking and crumbling until meat is completely browned.

2. Add in pumpkin, cocoa powder, and tomatoes. Stir and reduce to simmer. Allow to simmer at least 20 minutes, but up to 90 will deliver the best flavor. Stir occasionally.

3. Stir in beans. Allow to simmer for 15 more minutes. Adjust seasoning, and serve.

To make in crockpot, I cooked the chili the night before without any of the simmering. I left it in the fridge overnight, and then turned it on high for an hour, and then low for the rest of the morning in the crock pot. It was ready for a potluck lunch. You could probably leave it on low or even keep warm all day if you wanted it hot when you got home from work.

This chili was a big hit at my office. Either that, or they were just being really nice. Regardless, I really loved it. It’s rich, hearty, and not as tomato-y as your normal chili. Definitely a fun way to switch it up!

I have never made a whole chicken, in the oven OR the crock pot. But guess what…I did it and it was tasty!!

I put one largely chopped onion, one largely chopped potato, a bunch of baby carrots, and one cup of chicken stock into the bottom of my crock pot.

I then seasoned the five-pound bird with salt, pepper, garlic powder, red pepper flakes, and some Italian seasoning. DON’T FORGET TO TAKE THE PLASTIC POUCH OF GIZZARDS OUT. That would not taste good in the crock pot.

I nestled the bird down in, and turned that sucker on low for about six hours. HELLO delicious-smelling house. When it was done, I let it rest a few minutes on the cutting board before my husband chopped it into pieces. We threw the pieces back into the juices and veggies while we got the rest of our dinner ready. We also stored leftovers in the juices, just so everything stayed nice and delicious.

I made this recipe the other night, and I LOVED IT, but it did not turn out very pretty, soooooo here is a lovely photo from One Lovely Life…

Because I totally am borrowing this photo, as well as their recipe, I’m just going to tell you a few tweaks I made for my own version.

1. I made mashed cauliflower for the topping instead of mashed potatoes. I know potatoes are okay to have now, but the hubs and I really really love mashed cauliflower, and it’s a little easier to make. It probably didn’t stand up as well against the juices of the filling as a potato topper might have, but hey, it doesn’t have to be pretty to taste good!

2. I used ground turkey. Lamb’s expensive, and this family is on a BUDGET. Therefore, I also used chicken stock since I already had it on hand.

3. I also used the vegetables I had on hand. Instead of chopping carrots, I used a mixture of frozen peas and carrots. So I ended up putting in an onion, celery, and then frozen peas and carrots for my veggies. Works for me!

And just to humor you, here is the photo of how mine REALLY looked…This is REAL LIFE, folks…

I’m going to be honest with you. Usually by the time I’ve finished making dinner, I’m SO hungry that I really don’t bother to take NICE photos, like I did in the good ol’ days. This is the reason that many photos on my blog are just quick iPhone shots. It’s a shame really. I should make more of an effort in the photo arena, but hey, just because they aren’t pretty doesn’t mean they don’t taste good!

On that note, I bring you salmon cakes. You could make them crab cakes, or tuna cakes, or whatever kind of seafoody cake you enjoy. I haven’t done the math, but I’m going to guess these cost probably $3 for the whole batch, too. A 6 oz can of salmon is like, $2, and everything else in it is pretty simplistic. I don’t keep a lot of fresh herbs on hand in the winter, so I use dried ones in recipes like this.

1. Mash all these ingredients together very well, until you get a relatively smooth mixture. Taste it for seasoning, and doctor it up with anything you want.

2. Form cakes. I made 11 very small ones, which I liked, but you could also make a few larger ones if that’s how you role. Place them on a baking sheet or platter and put them in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. I actually made mine the night before so that I could make dinner more quickly, so mine sat 24 hours in fridge, no problem.

3. Heat a small amount of olive oil, ghee, or even coconut oil in a skillet. In two batches, place the cakes in the hot skillet until the bottom is nice and crispy. Don’t try turning them too soon or they will fall apart! Once it seems like you can get your spatula under them pretty easily, give them a flip, and keep cooking until they’ve got a nice crispy edge on them.

I really loved eating mine with guacamole, but you could do anything, including paleo mayo or a plethora of other amazing paleo dips and sauces.

Double recipe for you here today!! Bell Pepper Red Sauce and Turkey Zucchini Meatballs, all served over a lovely spaghetti squash!

First, let me just say that I adapted this recipe to make some much improved turkey meatballs. The zucchini adds SO much more moisture, so they aren’t dry and blah like many of the other meatballs I’ve made. Here’s what I combined to make my meatballs:

And now for the sauce. Here, you let everything roast in the crockpot all day (well, 5 hours on low, 3 on high), and then use your immersion blender to make it smooth and delicious, but you could also probably use a regular blender or a food processor if that’s what you’ve got. (Got it from over here on Paleo Pot!) My husband also added a solid amount of hot sauce. Be warned though – this makes A LOT of sauce. I happily put some in my freezer though so I won’t have to do much of anything next time we’re in a spaghetti squash mood.

These do not need much explaining. And let me say I also had this with some baked sweet potato slices, and that a larabar may have also been involved. While these may have benefited from a bit of homemade paleo mayo, I don’t eat may often enough to warrant making a batch. So I went plain-jane on these, and it was JUST FINE.

My best advice if you are trying to change your lifestyle habits is to not overthink it. Sometimes, I do want to try more complex, difficult recipes, and so in those times, I do that. But for the most part, I don’t want Whole30 or Paleo eating to feel like a chore. So I try to keep it simple most nights. Meat. Veggies. Some sweet potatoes. Some avocados. It’s really not too complicated if you don’t let it be!

And p.s., Romaine works great like this for any sandwich you’ve been craving. Load it up with turkey, veggies, sauces…whatever! They also make great “taco shells.” You’ll quickly realize that you have all the flavors you love, even without the bread. PLUS you will feel better about eating it, too.